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President's 12345 Message from Kristina Whalen

June 4, 2025

(1) Grave threats to our ability to serve low-income learners

At both the national and state level, we are seeing serious threats to access as well as support for low-income learners. Let’s start with the national threats. It comes by way of President Trump's Budget Bill:

  • Reduction in Maximum Pell Grant Award: President Trump's 2026 budget proposal calls for a nearly 23% decrease in the maximum Pell Grant, lowering it from $7,395 to $5,710 for the 2026-27 academic year.
  • Stricter Eligibility Requirements: The House budget bill proposes to increase the minimum course load required for Pell Grant eligibility. The reconciliation bill would increase the amount of coursework required for students to get the maximum Pell Grant, from 24 to 30 credits per year. The language of the bill is murky when it comes to quarter term colleges, but the threat for the ability to serve students with challenging life circumstances is crystal clear.
  • Reduced Support for Part-Time Students: Under the new rules, part-time students, those that currently receive prorated grants, would lose eligibility entirely if they do not meet the new minimum credit threshold. This is a significant shift from the current system, where even students taking a few credits can receive partial Pell support.

Community college leaders and advocacy organizations have loudly expressed strong concerns about these proposed changes. You can see the dramatic impact this would have on the students we serve. I’ll enumerate a few:

  • Two-thirds of community college students attend part-time, and many would lose Pell eligibility under the new requirements. The American Association of Community Colleges estimates at least 20% of Pell recipients at community colleges, or roughly 400,000 students per year, would lose their grants—potentially more.
  • Community college leaders argue that these changes will undermine efforts to build a skilled workforce, as many students will be unable to afford college without Pell support.
If implemented as passed by the House … it would make it extremely difficult for thousands of working students to continue to enroll in community college. There is a very real concern about students stopping out, because we are, by definition, talking about the lowest-income students on our campuses. — David Baime, Senior Vice President for Government Relations, AACC“” 

At the state-level, changes to the funding of the Promise Program (not the Promise Grant, I know it’s very confusing) blindsided our district. Last month, we were looking at reductions of over 50 percent at Foothill and DeAnza, with very little time to adjust. Due to quick advocacy work by our Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, and other negatively impacted districts, we were able to hold off these changes for a year. But, on the horizon, we can anticipate that we will no longer be able to offer free tuition for two-years for all first-time, full-time students for anyone. Our teams are working to create new eligibility guidelines to prepare for the next academic year.


We are doing everything we can to stave off these changes to Pell and Promise by organizing with advocacy groups. I'd like to invite you to contact your local, state, and federal representatives to explain how the proposed changes would harm students, especially part-time and low-income learners at community colleges. Share concrete data on the number of students and amount of financial aid that would be lost if eligibility is restricted or full-time status is redefined.

(2) Budget Town Hall, June 17th, 1:30-3 via Zoom.

Vice Chancellor Dela Rosa will be holding a Budget Town Hall with Chancellor Lambert during the regularly scheduled District Budget Advisory Council. This is a virtual town hall and I urge you to tune in to hear the modeled funding projections for the district. Our very own Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Stacy Glexiner, will provide a brief overview of how we were able to grow enrollment over the last two years with augmented support from the district. There is a lot to celebrate but also much nuanced information to understand about why we need to move into an area of moderate strategic growth aligned with our college and district priorities.

(3) PRIDE Inclusive Flag Raising and PRIDE Center Ribbon Cutting TODAY at noon.

Please connect to the joy that will take place today as our Pride Center and Rainbow Alliance folx raise the flag at the 1900 flagpole today. A ribbon cutting ceremony for the new PRIDE Center will occur and a reception with appetizers and beverages to follow in the Foothill Pride Center itself (2018).

(4) Career Advising Partnership.

We have been strengthening our connection to NOVAworks, a Silicon Valley workforce development agency. As part of this partnership, we are bringing career advisors to campus. Please share with students that advisors from NOVAworks are available to help with workforce questions, including resume and interview information. A representative will be on campus TODAY to answer questions from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM at the Library Patio Entrance. My thanks to the Learning Resources Center for organizing this partnership service.

(5) MIPC is this Friday from 1-3 in 1901 or via Zoom.

View MIPC agenda

 

Yours in Service,
Kristina

Dr. Kristina Whalen​
President

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